Bengal swimmer Sayoni Das successfully managed to cross the Strait of Gibraltar as reportedly the first Asian woman, yesterday.

The 14.2 km-long Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. Out of the three swimmers, who kicked off from Spain, Sayoni and American swimmer Ryan Hideki Utsumi could complete the target, while the third left the challenge midway. Sayoni told The Statesman from Spain: “We completed in much less time than the time we were given. The weather was fine and the ambience too,” she said, adding, “My next destination is to conquer the Sugaru Channel in Japan before 2027.”

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Das, the 26-year-old girl from Kalna had crossed the 35 km-long North Channel linking Ireland and Scotland as the first woman swimmer from the Asian countries in August, 2024. In April, last year, she crossed the Cook Strait in New Zealand.

In April, 2022, the Kalna girl had set a record by swimming across the unpredictable Molokai Channel that reaches 2,300 feet depth in certain places. Prior to that, she’d crossed the 19 km Rottnest Channel in Australia, Catalina Channel in California and English Channel during her journey that she’d kicked off in 2017, said Radheshyam Das, Sayoni’s father. Her trainer Dr Tapan Panigrahi said: “She’ll complete her mission to conquer the entire seven seas that’s her dream mission.”